Star Blazer cheat in total replay not working right.

[Keatah]

Can someone else double-check that the cheat in StarBlazer in TotalReplay isn't working correctly? It won't let you progress through the game. Stuck on level one!

[nick3092]

Looks like Peter Ferrie fixed this the same day. Maybe he saw this? Not sure that he posts on AA. I see him on Reddit and Discord though. 

 

https://github.com/a2-4am/4cade/commit/5ffb43cf4c79e8cf729776f4fb89a7bf362fb4d1

[Keatah]

I had also left a note on 4am's twitter. So he likely saw it there. I just love how quickly things get fixed in the hobby/homebrew scene. Lightyears ahead of commercial software for average consumers.

[nick3092]

Yeah, 4am and Peter are great. Along with many other people in this hobby/scene. I exchanged several emails with Peter about Passport a while back. He was always very informative and willing to help.

 

In the end, I actually wound up finding/reporting an issue that completely upended how it was thought a particular copy protection scheme worked. As I recall, by a fluke it had been working on any pre IWM machines. But the crack for this scheme didn't work on //c and IIgs real hardware, causing them to completely rethink how the scheme worked. Shortly after, a new version of Passport was released with a working crack for that scheme on all hardware, including IWM. 

 

I also love that 4am is putting in a lot of time imaging/archiving disks in WOZ format. In addition to the time spent cracking them. His dedication to preserving them is amazing.

[DeathAdderSF]

3 hours ago, nick3092 said:

Yeah, 4am and Peter are great.

 

Agreed 100%. They are extremely helpful, and passionate about doing archival the right way. IMO the Apple II community used to have a lot of exclusionist types who weren't very keen on newcomers to the "scene." Thankfully that has changed in a major way in recent years, thanks in large part to these two fellas, and others like them.

 

Personally I was relieved to send off some copy protected disks to 4am that I'd been sitting on for years; eventually these disks will fail and it was good peace of mind to have them properly archived by an expert, and shared w/the community.

 

Added to which these two have aided me in getting certain deprotected software working with the Trackstar ISA cards, which is something they really have no obligation at all to do. They just do it because they take universal compatibility seriously, and, I assume, because they also enjoy a good challenge.

Edited June 7, 2022 by DeathAdderSF

[The Usotsuki]

I feel like a lot of advancement in the Apple ][ world happened despite the community rather than because of it.

[Keatah]

I do keep hearing that all the time. For years now - that the community is not cohesive and lacks structure - compared to the C64 and Atari 400/800. And other micros of the day.

 

Usually it comes across as a complaint about there being no good central software repositories and sites to host scans/documentation. I have to completely disagree because we have FTP Asimov. And any serious enthusiast should mirror it locally. And learn to use the basic Windows search feature. The site is like the biggest AE Line ever!

 

But I will agree on lack of documentation. So many manuals and inserts are missing. And almost zero urgency for any scanning activities. Which is a shame, because Apple II software can be quite in-depth requiring a story background or reference charts and maps. Like for extensive rulebooks for SSI material and other RPGs.

 

The Apple II, as bare-metal as it is, is a very cerebral computer. Highly opposite of what the NES/Genesis/PS1 crowd are. And NES folks are the ones controlling retrogaming today.